A non-partisan blog dedicated to a discussion of politics from a social scientific perspective.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

President Obama's Final State of the Union Address

9:00pm ET

Waiting on the president to arrive and be announced by the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives. Talking heads are chattering about Americans held hostage by Iran and their imminent release in a few hours. The first lady and her guests have arrived.9:05pm

The President of the United States has been announced and is making his way down the aisle, greeting supporters and other lawmakers who have staked out a place to be in the photo shoot.

9:09pm

The president is in the well of the House and has greeted Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Vice-President Joe Biden. Speaker Ryan has introduced the president.

President Obama says the speech will be shorter so some of the attendees can get back to Iowa (laughter). Praises Ryan for passing a budget in 2015 and expresses optimism to work towards criminal justice reform (applause).

Focus of the speech is on the future...five years, ten years from now. What will the world be like? The world is changing and change will accelerate in the future.

President turns to speak of American exceptionalism. Indicates we are unique and face every challenge with an optimistic view. Says economic recovery, care for veterans, marriage equality all stem from the American quest for progress. The challenge today is whether we face the future with fear or with the confidence we have faced it in the past?

9:18pm

Four questions:

Economic equality

Technology

Security without policing the world

Reforming our politics

Longest stretch of job growth in two decades. 14 million new jobs in 6 years including 900,000 in manufacturing. Deficits have been reduced by 3/4 in six years. Says that idea that America is in decline is 'peddling fiction.'
Technology is allowing for much more rapid change than in the past. Workers have less opportunity to advance, companies have less loyalty, and economic gains have concentrated at the top of the income spectrum.

Focus turns to education. President argues that college must be made affordable for every student and family. An education is not enough though, job security must be fought for. President says the only people who will work the same job for 30 years with the same health benefits and pension benefits are the politicians in the room (uncomfortable look on the faces of many).

Argues for strengthening Social Security and healthcare. Urges bipartisan reforms to provide unemployment insurance and job training for those who lose their jobs due to changing economy and technology.

Looks to bipartisan cooperation on fighting poverty (minor applause) and making sure system is not rigged for the wealthy. Says outdated regulations and red tape need to be cut (Republicans applaud).

Says immigrants are not the cause of wage stagnation in America...that is a decision made in the boardrooms of America by the people who stash their money in overseas accounts.

Technology

Argues that we need to reinvigorate our technology industry. Invokes the response to the fears Russians would beat us to the moon. Mocks those who deny what they cannot see (Russians orbiting the earth...veiled reference to climate change?).

Announces new initiative to end cancer and names VP Biden to head the effort.

Mocks those who deny climate change and says we have to work harder for American businesses to produce and sell the energy of the future...clean energy. Wind power is cheaper, solar is saving Americans tens of millions of dollars, solar jobs pay better than coal mining, foreign oil imports reduced 60%, carbon pollution reduced more than any other nation. I'm sure this will be fact checked.

Jokes about sub-two dollar a gallon gas. Why isn't he responsible for that since he was blamed for four dollar gas?

Security

How do we avoid nation building and isolation at the same time?

Invokes the idea that America is the most powerful nation on earth to raucous applause. Points out that we spend more on military than the next 8 nations combined, praises our troops as the finest fighting force in the world, surveys show the world still looks to the U.S. for leadership.

Indicates the biggest threat to America today comes from failed states, not superpowers or evil empires. Russia propping up client states, post-war system struggling to adapt to new realities.

Priority #1 is protecting Americans and fighting terrorists. Al-qaeda and ISIL pose direct threat to Americans through use of social media campaigns, attacks without regard to own lives. Claims that this is WWIII empowers ISIL, which must be stopped, but ISIL does not threaten our national existence. Refutes the idea that ISIL represents Islam but is instead a bastardization consisting of killers and fanatics who must be rooted out and destroyed.

If Congress is serious take a vote and authorize the use of military force against ISIL. Promises ISIL will learn the same lesson as terrorists before them. Ask Osama bin-Laden how committed we are to getting and destroying terrorists.

Foreign policy has to be more than just a focus on terrorism. We must focus on the breeding grounds for terrorists. We must work to eliminate the causes of terrorism but we cannot rebuild every failed state. We must learn from past mistakes like Iraq.

Says the Iran deal is working as Iran has shipped out some uranium supplies and a new war has been avoided.

Urges Congress to approve TPP to allow the US to set the rules for trade in the pacific.

Says restoring relations with Cuba was a step toward gaining more influence in Latin America. Asks Congress to lift the embargo on Cuba and recognize that the Cold War is over.

America is strengthened when we involve ourselves with world problems like hunger, HIV, malaria, etc. That is how America shows it is strong and a leader.

Promises to keep working towards shutting down Guantanamo prison.

Politics

Reject politics that targets people by race or religion. Says this is not about political correctness, it is about our diversity and openness, our respect for difference.

Argues that politicians who use demagoguery are guilty of weakening America and betraying our core values.

The great American future can only happen if we fix our politics. Vigorous debates are good for making progress. Yet, Democracy requires basic trust among citizens. It doesn't work when we accuse those we disagree with of being unpatriotic or when we listen only to those with whom we agree.

Americans feel like the system does not work for them. Promises to work to bridge the divide between the parties.

Indicates that the time has come to stop drawing congressional districts so politicians can pick their voters. End the influence of money in politics. We should make it easier, not harder, for people to participate in the political process.

Change will not come until we the people demand it. It won't be easy. It's easy to be cynical and say that our actions don't matter. We won't get where we want to be unless we're willing to work for it.

We've come a long way and we have a ways to go. We can get there together when we see ourselves as Americans first and not define ourselves by our parties, our ethnicity, or our religion.

Ending the speech on a hopeful note, praising the positive in each of us, the selfless sacrifices, because of this the state of our union is strong.

About Me

I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science. My research interests include the presidency, the Congress, and institutional relationships. I'm married (Kate) with one daughter. We have two rescue hounds named Remy and Tessie, who love to get into trouble. My wife and I are the owners of the web based travel agency 'The Cruise Doctor' We love traveling to Walt Disney World and just about anywhere by cruise ship.